Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared that his presidential term will end in 2030 and that the question of his departure from office is now "settled and will not be discussed".
Sisi, 71, said on Saturday during a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy that "the Egyptian constitution would not be touched". He is currently serving a six-year term.
"The year 2030 will mark the end of my presidential term. This matter is completely settled," Sisi said.
"I will not leave the Egyptian state until it is brimming with its own people capable of shouldering responsibility," the president said. He added that the military academy was creating a new generation of leaders.
Sisi came to power in 2013 after leading a military coup that deposed Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
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Rights groups estimate that over 60,000 prisoners of conscience are held in Egyptian jails, of whom over 1,000 are women.
Many prisoners, including former President Morsi and several opposition figures, have died of medical neglect and other inhumane prison conditions, according to rights groups.
Sisi's latest comments come at a turbulent time in the region.
Last week, Egypt’s foreign minister re-affirmed the country's support for Saudi Arabia in its conflict with Yemen's Houthis, saying that "Gulf security is integral to Egypt’s national security and our solidarity with Saudi Arabia."
Egypt has also been engaged in military conflict with its neighbours. Last week an Egyptian air strike killed 72 civilian workers at a gold mine on the Sudan-Egypt border.
Egypt backs the Sudanese Armed Forces in its war against the UAE-backed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Sisi's government is also at loggerheads with Ethiopia, which it sees as a potential naval rival in the Red Sea and with which it has a longstanding issue over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Egypt recently hosted a conference with representatives from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea to discuss coordinating military and intelligence efforts if conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalates.
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